Court rules escort-service photo error falls outside federal non-consensual porn law

A Utah district judge held that an escort agency's brief mistaken posting of a nude photo with the worker's face does not trigger the federal statute against non-consensual pornography.

The case of Doe v. T.T., II, Inc. was decided by Judge Dale Kimball in the District of Utah. The plaintiff, an escort, had signed an agreement to provide semi-nude images for advertising, using an assumed name and withholding her real identity. The agency posted the images as intended, but on one occasion mistakenly included a picture showing her face, which remained online for about two hours before removal.

The plaintiff sued under 15 U.S.C. § 6851, alleging unlawful disclosure of intimate images. The judge ruled that the statute does not cover this situation because the photos were commercial pornographic content supplied voluntarily and the erroneous posting was quickly corrected, falling within the law’s exceptions. The agency also argued that it removed the remaining images within a few days after the plaintiff’s resignation, a timeframe it deemed reasonable. The court emphasized that the statute was not meant to award liquidated damages for simple errors in a consensual business relationship.